Oil Gains More Than 2% on New Iran Sanctions Threat

August 20, 2026

News summary: Reuters reported Brent rose 2.4% to settle at $93.78/bbl and WTI gained 2.3% to $87.83/bbl after the United States threatened consequences for countries supporting Iran.

Market context: Sanctions uncertainty added counterparty, banking and origin-screening risk to an already constrained physical market.